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Nixon in China
'' Nixon in China'' is an opera in three acts by John Adams , with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1985, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after 1972. To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as "minimalist", the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action. Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera. Tossup Questions # One character in this opera interrupts a performance to help a character she thinks is being whipped to death. The orchestra for this opera is strengthened by two pianos and four saxophones, among others. The title character of this opera sings "News has a kind of mystery" when contemplating the effects of his actions, and that character's wife sings "This is prophetic" while imagining her future after visiting a children's school. A chorus sings "The Three Main Rules of Discipline" at the beginning of this opera in which the main characters watch a performance of The Red Detachment of Women. For 10 points, beginning with the landing of the plane the Spirit of '76, name this minimalist opera about a US president's international visit by John Adams. # The soprano in this opera sings the aria "This is Prophetic" after accepting the gift of a glass elephant. The main male and female characters interrupt the performance of a ballet in the second act when they try to rescue one of the female performers, who is being whipped. In the first scene, a military chorus sings "The Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention" after the title character descends from a (*) big plane called the Spirit of '76. For 10 points, name this John Adams opera in which a US President dances a foxtrot with Chairman Mao, commemorating a real 1972 visit to the title country. # A soprano sings, "I don't daydream and I don't look back" after receiving a glass elephant during a visit to a glass factory at the start of this opera's second act. In this opera's last aria, a man asks "How much of what we did was good?" During the second act three characters start acting in the play The Red Detachment of Women. Alice Goodman wrote the libretto for this opera, which opens with "The Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention", sung to celebrate the landing of plane, while a foxtrot from the third act was adapted into The Chairman Dances. Chou En-Lai and Henry Kissinger, for 10 points, appear in what minimalist opera about a President's visit to an Asian country by John Adams # One character in this opera sings "we fight, we die / and if we do not fight, we die" in an aria titled "I Am No One." This opera ends with one character singing "How much of what we did was good?", and its second act includes a performance of one of the eight model plays. Its title character sings "News Has a Kind of Mystery" after a giant plane descends from the ceiling in its first scene. With a libretto written by Alice Goodman, its third act features a foxtrot later adapted into the Chairman Dances. Including characters like the soprano Pat and the baritone Chou En-lai, for 10 points, name this opera by John Adams about a president's visit to a Communist country.